Europe Edition: France, Russia, Donald Trump: Your Monday Briefing

In Slovakia, we met a pair of teenagers — Karolina Farska and David Straka — who have become unlikely media darlings with their anticorruption message.

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“People say we are naïve, and I guess we are naïve,” Ms. Farska said. “But we are learning, and we are not alone.”

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Anton Vaganov/Reuters

• Thousands of Russians gathered to present letters of protest at government offices, the second widespread show of public discontent in two months. Over a hundred people were arrested in St. Petersburg and in other cities.

“We have Putin, we don’t need food,” read one sarcastic protest sign in the Siberian city of Tomsk.

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David Ramos/Getty Images

• In Sweden, last month’s terror attack by an Uzbek man whose asylum claim had been rejected has some calling for a crackdown on illegal immigration, which in turn raised fears among rejected asylum seekers.

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But the country is struggling to deal with the challenge. The police estimate that 12,500 out of 18,000 rejected asylum seekers have gone underground. Sweden received 191,000 asylum applications in the last two years.

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Al Drago/The New York Times

• President Trump celebrated his first 100 days in office over the weekend, bathing in the applause of a crowd of his bedrock supporters and reviving falsehoods about the economy and the news media.

Separately, Mr. Trump became the first sitting president since Ronald Reagan to speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention.

Congressional leaders reached a bipartisan agreement to fund the U.S. government through September, averting a shutdown next weekend.

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Business

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Gilles Sabrie for The New York Times

• Chinese distant-water fishing vessels are heading to West Africa, where corruption and lax enforcement have opened the door to overfishing.

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• We spoke with five people who have been training artificial intelligence to replace them in doing their jobs.

• “Fit and proper” — Our media columnist looks into the regulatory standard that is haunting the Murdoch family’s bid to gain complete control of the Sky satellite and cable network.

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•Ahead this week: Apple and Volkswagen earnings; the Federal Reserve’s decision on whether to raise interest rates on Wednesday.

• Key markets are closed for the Labor Day holiday. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.

In the News

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Pool photo by Virginia Mayo

•European Unionleaders unanimously endorsed guidelines to negotiate the end of more than four decades of British membership in the bloc. [The New York Times]

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• The Turkish government expanded its crackdown on free expression, purging nearly 4,000 more public officials, blocking access to Wikipedia and even banning television matchmaking shows. [The New York Times]

• An exiled Iranian television executive was assassinated by unknown assailants in Istanbul. [The New York Times]

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• Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, discussed women’s rights and the war in Yemen with King Salman of Saudi Arabia in her first visit to the kingdom in seven years. [Associated Press]

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• Matteo Renzi, Italy’s former prime minister, easily won a Democratic Party primary, a key step in his bid to return to power. [Politico]

•Ueli Steck, a renowned mountain climber known as the “Swiss Machine,” was killed in a mountaineering accident near Mount Everest. [The New York Times]

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Smarter Living

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Matt Chase

• Read a book you think you’ll hate, and you’ll become a better critic.

• Be nice, and don’t worry about the cool kids — research says you won’t finish last.

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• Recipe of the day: Celebrate the season with pasta primavera.

Noteworthy

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Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

• Chelsea will almost surely be the Premier League champion, largely thanks to its ruthless tactics under its manager, Antonio Conte.

• Maria Sharapova lost in the semifinals of the Porsche Grand Prix to Kristina Mladenovic, one of her biggest critics.

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• Ben Brantley, our chief theater critic, is reporting from London’s West End this week. Here’s his review of the musical “Dreamgirls.”

“The show comes roaring at you like a souped-up, chrome-plated luxury sedan,” he writes.

Back Story

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Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press

Today, the presidency of the U.N. Security Council changes hands.

That’s because the five permanent members and the 10 nonpermanent members each hold the role for one month, following English alphabetical order.

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Sweden was up when the year started. Ukraine took February and the United Kingdom got March. The United States held April and now hands off to Uruguay.

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Next month, the order starts back at the top: Bolivia, then China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Italy and Japan.

This is just the second time that Uruguay, a U.N. founding member, has held a Security Council seat. The first, in 1965-66, came after a reorganization to increase representation by those who are not permanent members of the council.

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Uruguay helped Singapore and a handful of other nations create the Forum of Small States, meant to allow small U.N. members to amplify their messages.

You could say that he is well named for the role of international diplomacy. “Oscar” spread across Europe and beyond thanks to the popularity of the epic works by the mid-18th century Scottish poet James Macpherson.

The name has two possible roots: from Gaelic, meaning “friend of deer,” or from Old English, meaning “sword of God.”

Lauren Hard contributed reporting.

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